Every year when the heavy rains, heat and high humidity of the monsoon months cease, and give way to that dry, cool weather of the winter for which northern India is so famous, my thoughts turn to the clear, fast-flowing rapids of the Sankosh and Manas with their backdrop of towering, thickly forested foothills…I can think of no part of the world which can boast of greater scenic enchantment combined with rich and varied wild life than this strip of Himalayan foothills…And I cannot think of a more engaging and more wonderful wild creature than the “newly-discovered” golden langur, as it feeds, plays and leaps from branch to branch in the tree tops, making the silvery-green leaves quiver against an azure sky.” These words are taken from the 1964 book The Wild Life of India by British naturalist and tea planter Edward Pritchard Gee, credited with the identification of a cream-coloured Old World primate endemic only to Assam and Bhutan. Named Gee’s golden langur after the naturalist, the monkey remains one of the rarest and most threatened primates globally.
In his book, Gee mentions hearing about the presence of the animal in the early and mid 1900s and then seeing multiple troops, concentrated between the Manas and Sankosh rivers in India and the foothills of Bhutan’s Black Mountains. It is with his documentation that the Zoological Survey of India determined the primate as a new species. But Gee acknowledges that the primate was long known to the local Rabha and Bodo communities, with the latter revering the langur as a descendant of a mythical monkey king.
Today, golden langurs inhabit subtropical broadleaf forests of the Himalayan foothills, typically at elevations of 100-1,500 metres. In Assam, the population of golden langur is estimated to be around 7,400 individuals, according to a 2024 study published in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation. Their range is largely confined to the Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary, Raimona National Park, Kakoijana Reserved Forest, parts of Manas National Park, and a few fragmented patches in Kokrajhar and Dhubri districts.
The langur’s long, silky coat gives it a luminous appearance that changes with the seasons. Males tend to have a deeper golden tone, while females and juveniles are lighter and silvery-white. The black face, pale beard, and long crown whorl of hair add to its distinctive look, and its tail often exceeds 1 metre. The species is strictly arboreal, using contiguous, tall canopy across moist evergreen, semi-evergreen and riverine forests. Socially, the langurs live in small groups averaging eight individuals, typically one male with several females and young ones. Unlike many primates, golden langurs are shy and avoid humans—a fact even Gee notes.
However, fragmentation of habitats due to construction of roads, powerlines and cleared corridors occasionally forces some troops to small forest fragments surrounded by villages and plantations. Electrocution by power lines, road traffic and dog attacks frequently cause langur deaths. Fragmentation also restricts gene flow, leading to inbreeding and long-term population decline.
The reverence local communities have for the primate has translated into community stewardship. People near Chakrashila and Kakoijana Reserved Forests have formed community conservation groups that patrol forests, prevent timber smuggling, and plant native trees to restore connectivity between fragmented patches. The Bodoland Territorial Council in Assam has the langur as its official mascot. In an effort to prevent roadkill and electrocution, four canopy bridges have been built over National Highway 117 in Bongaigaon district to facilitate their movement. Conservationists emphasise the need for corridor restoration to reconnect isolated groups across Assam and Bhutan.
This article was originally published as part of the December 16-31, 2025 print edition of Down To Earth